'Pathetic, embarrassing': Fans hit out at Indian outfits at Olympics opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics has come and gone, with Paris putting up a delightful display along the banks of the river Seine last night.

However, for India, the opening ceremony did not end unscathed.

The Indian athletes in traditional outfits displaying the tri-colour were all smiles at the parade as they waved the flag to the fans cheering them on amidst the rain.

The men wore kurtas, while the women took part in the opening ceremony in sarees.

The outfits were designed by famous Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani, with ikat-inspired print of the national flag colours - saffron, white and green - printed digitally.

However, the Indian netizens were not impressed with the choice of outfits provided to the athletes at the Athletes' Parade and were vocal about it across platforms.

Most of the criticism veered towards the fact that the design was printed and not embroidered or hand-woven. The fans were of the opinion that it made the outfit look quite bland and not very eye-soothing.

Two prominent sports apparel designers clarified the origins of the design to The Bridge.

"The design was inspired from traditional handprint and not embroidery. So the criticism around the absence of embroidery is pointless."

"However if that's traditional handprint or machine print is a conversation we need to have," they added.

Here are some of the reactions to India's outfits at the opening ceremony:

But although the reactions were negative from the general public on a large scale, there were some defending the design outfit.

Another designer said the ikat-based print with national colours is a good concept, but the styling could have been better.

According to our sources, Tarun submitted multiple designs to IOA, and apparently, the Indian authority rejected that multiple times.